Friday, February 20, 2015

Dirty Jon's Favorite Tanks of Mid War

Mid War! I really like this time period in Flames of War. I feel like you get enough stuff to be dangerous, but not enough of the really late stuff that makes having a high armor stat meaningless - I'm looking at you, Late-Late War. It always seems like I am struggling to either augment an Early War idea, or downgrade a Late War idea. I never know what my opponent will do either! A horde of little guys? A few behemoths? To me, that quandary is exciting!

Below, I will list some of my top picks for Mid War tanks and talk a little about why I like them. This is a total opinion piece, so feel free to disagree and discuss your picks in our forum!

The US M3 Lee - Confident Trained - 100pts/Tank

Ahh, the M3 Lee. I think this is THE tank of Mid War. Usually, I like a very specialized unit like Marders or Nebelwerfers - do one job and do it very well for low cost. Sometimes, a unit is just sooo good at everything, that I just can't help but love it (Armored Rifle Platoon, anyone?). For me, the M3 Lee with the long M3 75mm is the best all-around tank out there. With 5/3/1 armor, it is a pretty decent tank in MW - certainly matching the German Mediums. The real value is in the versatility of the armaments. The M3 75mm is able to punch just about everything out there, and the Stabiliser is just icing on the cake. What really makes this tank shine is the M6 37mm gun that can tear up any light tank hordes, like the Panzer II, T-26 and T-70. This gun can also rip up any halftracks or infantry that get in the way. This tank represents a very, very good value and should be able to earn back its points in most battles.

The drawback to this tank is its middling toughness because of the Trained rating and 5 FA. Some of the larger AT guns and tanks will be able to kill it easily, so it is important to be careful when those are encountered.

I really like this tank - especially in 5 Tank platoons - and it should be considered for any US lists.

The Finnish KV-1e - Fearless Veteran - 215pts/Tank

If you have ever played Finns in MW, you have likely seen these hulks on the table. The Finns have very few mobile options, and the two captured KV-1s are a popular choice. I also think that these tanks are a fantastic buy for what they can provide. With an armor profile of 9/8/2, they are very tough for most armies in Mid War to deal with. The Finn player can park these in woods to hold objectives, or simply roll them forward with their fine infantry, blasting whatever targets present themselves.

The AT 9 gun is a good one and can throw down with most enemies. In many games, this unit will return its value in simply absorbing shots, throwing a wrench in opponents' plans and not being dead. I like this tank being Fearless, as it can recover from being Bailed Out easily. A couple of Fearless Veteran heavy tanks is very difficult to deal with in Mid War and this unit should not be overlooked.

The German Panther D - Confident Trained - 188pts/Tank

This is another entry in the "How do I deal with this?" list. With excellent front armor, there really is no reason to hide this tank or worry about being rated Trained. All but the heaviest of guns will simply bounce off. In addition, this tank has one of the best guns in Mid War with AT 14. This guy will be blowing up just about everything it shoots at.

A popular "Surprise!" list is to take 8 of these in a 1500 point, two-platoon monster of a list. I have seen it do very well, and very poorly. Construct at your own risk!

The tank is vulnerable to side shots and assaults from large infantry platoons, so you should be careful to avoid such situations. A light tank horde (T-26s) can overwhelm this tank if not protected properly. Sure, the AT 14 can blow everything up, but each Panther can only kill two cheap tanks per turn, and that may not be enough to win. There is little versatility, and if you have to face a Strelk blob, you will wish you had taken Panzer IIIs or IVs.

The big enemy is air power. Thankfully, that seems to show up less in Mid War than Late.

Those are my top 3, but there are lots of good options out there. What are your favorite Mid War tanks? Sound off on our Forums!